Market Data 
May commemorates Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) month in the United States, to honor the achievements of people of Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander ancestry who have contributed to U.S. culture and lifestyle. It is quite easy to see this delicious influence in the myriad restaurants, chefs and food products available throughout the country, but sometimes it’s harder to know when it comes to things we drink.
“While I tend to know more AAPI-owned wine brands than spirits, there’s incredible diversity and depth across both,” says June Rodil is a Filipina-American trailblazer leading Houston-based Goodnight Hospitality. “From Korean-American winemakers in Oregon to Filipino rum and Hawaiian craft spirits, there’s a rich tapestry of Asian American voices shaping what we drink.”
Born in the Philippines and raised in Texas, Rodil’s career has included leadership roles at over 20 hospitality concepts. One of only 25 female Master Sommeliers in the Americas, Rodil also has her own wine label. Collaborating with her friend Cat Miles and renowned winemaker Markus Huber, in Traisental, Austria, she created and launched June’s Rosé in 2017, a lively sparkling blend of 50% pinot noir and 50% zweigelt that is now available across the country.
“We could even widen the lens a bit to include importers and producers from the Asian diaspora — like Vine Connections, who bring in amazing sakes from Japan. Their sake portfolio is led by an Asian American woman who’s deeply connected to the culture and travels back and forth to Japan,” says Rodil.
Among many other brands available across the U.S., these 10 stand out as favorites for their excellent products as well as their stories of resilience, innovation and heritage. pride.
Spirts And Wines
Kasama Rum
Founder Alexandra Dorda, daughter of the founder of well-known brands Chopin and Belvedere, created Kasama Rum to pay homage to her Filipino-Polish heritage. Described as a new school rum, it brings a refreshing approach to a widely popular spirit category. Kasama’s delicate yet delicious flavor comes from the Noble sugarcane sourced around the distillery, enhanced by 7 years spent in American Oak barrels from the Wild Turkey distillery to give Kasama its signature flavor profile.
With dominant notes of sweet pineapple, a hint of vanilla, and a pinch of sea salt, Kasama is a dream in tropical cocktails but also perfect on its own, perhaps over a big ice cube, to enjoy its unique profile.
Skrewball Whiskey
Since he was young, Cambodian-born Steven Yeng associated peanut butter with the taste of freedom. After his parents survived the genocide by the Khmer Rouge and the family spent six long years in a Thai refugee camp where they struggled to have access to food and water, they were finally able to settle in San Diego. Among the basic food items that the local family who sponsored them to immigrate also gave them were jars of peanut butter.
Many years later, after opening various bars and restaurants in the city, Yeung and his high school sweetheart, Brittany, created Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey. The brand took off, becoming a favorite among U.S. consumers. In just five years, it achieved a remarkable consumer retail growth rate of 1,976% in 2021, selling over one million cases in its third year on the market.
Woorisoul
This innovative company is owned and operated by Master Sommelier Kyungmoon Kim, who saw the rise in popularity of Korean cuisine but noticed the beverage scene was lagging behind. He decided to launch his own company, KMS Imports/Woorisoul, to bring traditional Korean alcoholic beverages, known as sool, to the U.S. market.
Kyungmoon works with small family-owned breweries and distilleries to source and distribute a variety of excellent rice wines, plum wines and especially soju, a spirit distilled from rice, wheat, and barley that has been a part of Korean culture for more than 500 years and is often considered the national drink of Korea.
Soju is a clear and colorless, a spirit similar to vodka, which lends itself to adding fruity flavors. However, Kyungmoon’s range of artisanal soju are not your average garden variety. These are premium spirits meant to be appreciated carefully, made in different styles and boasting unique flavors.
Kōloa Rum
Kōloa Rum has crafted in the first licensed distillery in Kaua’i, Using locally sourced ingredients and traditional distillation techniques, since 2009. Kōloa creates a diverse portfolio that includes signature dark, light, and flavored rums, as well as a delicious collection of ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails.
All are made from pure sugarcane and pristine rainwater from Mount Waiʻaleʻale, fostering a deep connection to Kauai’s sugarcane heritage and a commitment to their community and suatainability practices. All distilling, blending, and bottling are completed at their distillery in Kalaheo. They also partner with local farmers to craft unique products such as Kōloa Kauaʻi Cacao Rum and Kōloa Kauaʻi Coffee Rum.
CHO Wines
Dave and Lois Cho went from busking together on the streets of Santa Monica to becoming the first Korean-American winemakers in Oregon. Before opening CHO Wines, Dave obtained a degree in Enology & Viticulture from Oregon State University and worked for well-known wineries in the Willamette Valley like Argyle Winery and Stoller Family Estate. By 2020, he was ready to set out on his own, acquiring property on the highest peak of the Willamette valley, with Lois as CFO and co-founder. By the way, she is also the founder of the Oregon AAPI Food and Wine nonprofit.
CHO Wine’s portfolio includes an 85% Pinot Gris, 15% Chardonnay sparkling wine, a still Chardonnay, a rosé, and of course, Willamette’s signature Pinto Noir and Syrah. All are grown sustainably, and crafted with care and pride of their heritage.
Vinn Distillery
A family-owned distiller of non-GMO rice-based products, Vinn Distillery is owned by a family of five siblings, the offspring of Vietnamese refugees, in Portland, Oregon. Their flagship spirit is Baijiu, a traditional Chinese grain spirit which they craft by hand using recipes and methods that have been in the family for well over seven generations. Vinn is the first baijiu crafted in the Americas.
Baijiu is the world’s most popular liquor by volume, most commonly distilled from sorghum, but also from rice, wheat, corn and millet. The flavor is strong and funky, perhaps an acquired taste by most Noth American standardards. But today, the Ly family makes nine products, including baijius infused with honey and berries, and even a barrel-aged baijiu whiskey, as well as their Vinn Baijiu Family Reserve which was made in honor of the late family patriarch.
SummerFall
Born and raised in Japan, Takuma Inagawa launched WAKAZE Sake in the suburbs of Paris. Within three years, the brand grew to become the number one sake in France, but noticed that the fun, casual style of enjoying sake in Japan was missing. Seeking to break sake free from its niche and reach a new audience of drinkers while still honoring its rich tradition, he headed to California, where he developed the idea of a canned sparkling sake.
After training under a master sake brewer in Akita, Inagawa launched SummerFall, a high-acid, citrusy, session sake made with California Calrose rice, white koji and local wine yeast. At only 11 percent ABV, it’s vibrant, refreshing and incredibly food friendly.
Nectar Hard Seltzer
Frustrated by the lack of Asian flavors on shelves, despite the massive amount of brands dogpiling into the hard seltzer category, Korean-American Jeremy Kim and Chinese-American Geng Wang, alongside friends John Dalsey and Brando, decided to take matter into their hands. Nectar Hard Seltzer launched mid-pandemic at the end of 2020 with flavors like Lychee, Asian Pear, Yuzu, and Mandarin. After their TikTok videos went viral, there were lines around the block for the first stores that carried the drinks.
Since the launch, they’ve created even more unique seltzer flavors like Li Hing Pineapple and Green Grape, and expanded into new drink formats includinge Hard Juice and SoJuice in flavors like Passionfruit Orange and Calamansi Watermelon.
Within the company, they’ve adopted a “Beyond Tradition” mission statement: a double meaning that encompasses the act of subverting stereotypes and expectations held for the Asian-American community (both internally and externally), as well as thinking outside-the-box of drink industry norms with their marketing and products.
Non-Alcoholic Beverages
Wildwonder
Growing up, Rosa Li’s Chinese grandmother brewed soothing tonics with wild herbs and botanicals. Using this herbal wisdom and seeking to emulate those drinks that made her feel better in body and spirit, Li created wildwonder, the world’s first sparkling prebiotic and probiotic beverage that combines two essential components — live probiotics and prebiotic dietary fiber.
Wildwonder combines gut-healing superfoods such as ginger, turmeric, and rose with the refreshing flavors of California fruit. The line includes unique combinations like Guava Rose, Peach Ginger, Strawberry Passionfruit, and Raspberry Lychee, among others.
A current, limited-edition Cherry Lemonade flavor is the result of a recent collab with fellow female-AAPI-founded brand Le Mini Macaron, led by Christina Kao. Plus, 5% of profits from every wildwonder drink sold goes towards causes that empower women and help marginalized communities.
Health-Ade
Vanessa Dew co-founded Health-Ade Kombucha in 2012 alongside her best friends, husband-and-wife team, Justin and Daina Trout. Originating in the Brentwood Farmers Market in 2012, the brand quickly became a favorite in Southern California and now boasts a presence in over 65,000 stores nationwide.
The line includes bottled and canned kombucha in flavors like Pink Lady, Apple, Passionfruit-Tangerine, Ginger Lemon, Guava Dragon Fruit, and seasonal ones like Orange Creamsicle, and there is also a line of gut-healthy sodas, SunSip, that come in traditional flavors – think Cherry Cola, Root Beer and Cream Soda, with all the same health benefits that have made Health-Ade a favorite.
